Anyone extremely disappointed by 1L grades? I am...

[1HellChicago]

I cannot believe that I got a C in the class I enjoyed the most and for which I studied the most. I feel like my future career is ruined now. Any way to recover? Ever? Or will this haunt me for life?

What is a "good" 1L GPA, anyway? is 3.0 - give or take a little - considered at least acceptable?

 

[antwan]

take it easy. a C is not a bad grade in law school and im assuming this was your first semester. all you need is a A to average that C into a B, and you still have next semester to improve before any law review or scholorship decisions are made. Plus the whole grade thing is way overhyped. Every lawyer ive ever spoken to about it all says the same thing: 5 years after law school, if you work hard you can get any job you want, youll only be as good as your last case. Grades are only important if you want to go into biglaw and be miserable the rest of your life. A 2.7 at my school can put you into to the top 1/3 of the class (we have a strict C curve) and one C is so inignificant that you should stop worrying right now. even if you got straight C's through all of law school your career wouldnt be "ruined"

[J D]

I would also add that there are many, many skills which are invaluable to a successful lawyer that are not (and probably cannot be) tested in law school exams.  These include things like good judgment (how much is this case worth?  how much will I probably need to spend to bring it and see it through?), negotiation skills, the ability to handle and earn the trust of your clients, etc.  Also remember that law school exam grades, because of the forced curve and other quirks, are notoriously whimsical and arbitrary: the difference between one person's grade and another person's grade is often based on seemingly insignificant differences in the students' responses.

In short, relax.  Your exam grades are not destiny, and in many cases they have proved to be a very poor indicator of one's potential or aptitude for being a lawyer.  This one C grade will not prevent you from achieving success (also remember that there is more than one definition of a "successful" lawyer or legal career).

[starter]

My first grade was a B-, on a B curve.  My GPA sits at 2.7, median is at 3.0.  I thought I knew the material in this class as well, but what can you do?  I guess we'll just have to figure out what went wrong and fix it next time.  There are more grades this semester and a whole other semester to fix the problems.  Things will work out.

[slacker]

Straight C's can ruin you at some places -- if grade out is under a C+ average.

But, in general, I agree with the advice.

[Goldy]

Relax. There is an old joke. What do you call a c law student who graduates? A lawyer.
But really, some people just are not good at taking tests. You will probably do better in your other classes anyway

[1HellChicago]

Straight C's can ruin you at some places -- if grade out is under a C+ average.

But, in general, I agree with the advice.

Luckily it was only one and I have some other, better grades this semester. I think I'll end up around a 3.0 (maybe slightly below b/c the C was in a high credit class, ugh). As for the median, though, I have no idea and the school won't give out any info until after 2nd semester. I'm told this may be below the median from 2Ls, though.

Well, I guess my biggest fear is that, even if I can make up for it in terms of GPA by scoring well in other classes, it might be this huge, glaring stigma on my transcript that will prevent firms/judges from wanting to hire me as a clerk and then worse: after graduation. I think I would have even preferred 2 B- instead of a C and an A just b/c the C stands out so much. I think I may have gotten the lowest grade in the class.

I know you guys are probably right, but I feel like such crap right now that it's impossible for me to stop worrying about it. Thanks, though, and glad to hear others' more positive attitudes.

[DutchessA]

If a C is the lowest grade in your class that is amazing...I got a C in a class I expected it from (I'm not nearly crazy enough for my Prof.)  However, the C that I got is probably slightly above average if the curve followed the midterm we had...so, I'm not overly concerned...I will hopefully (once I get my last two grades) average out at around 3.--...

My main concern is that rumors have spread about how they broke out grades for LRW, it is a 3 unit course, but people are saying that in order to avoid giving points to people who did poorly in their other classes they are limiting the max GPA for LRW to 2.7 (the school average GPA) so that no one can be bumped up from a good grade in LRW...Doesn't completely make sense to me, but that would suck especially since I repeatedly had the highest grade in the class...Does this make sense to any of you?

[jacy85]

I wish I knew.  I only have one grade posted so far...

And if you only got 1 C, I agree with everyone else.  Relax, and don't worry about it.

[1HellChicago]

My main concern is that rumors have spread about how they broke out grades for LRW, it is a 3 unit course, but people are saying that in order to avoid giving points to people who did poorly in their other classes they are limiting the max GPA for LRW to 2.7 (the school average GPA) so that no one can be bumped up from a good grade in LRW...Doesn't completely make sense to me, but that would suck especially since I repeatedly had the highest grade in the class...Does this make sense to any of you?

Wow, it doesn't make sense to me at all; hope it's not true for your sake. I think your GPA should be bumped up from a good LRW grade.